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BY TIM PENNINGTON EDITOR Two San Francisco bike makers turn to powder coating to finish their custom products. LIFE CYCLE: Powder Coat Turns Bikes into Fine-Tuned Machines 18 JUNE 2017 — PFonline.com Americans still love to ride their bicycles, something they might have picked up as a kid growing up in suburbia or on a sidewalk in a big city. But manufacturers don't necessarily like to make their bikes here in the U.S.; a 2015 report by the National Bicycle Dealers Association says just 2.5 percent of the almost 13 million bikes sold in the U.S. were made here. In 1990, just over 5 million bikes were manufactured by U.S. workers, according to the International Bike Association. In 2015, that number dipped to almost 200,000. But Jefferson McCarley and Andrew Low are out to do something about that, even if it means making the two-wheel contraptions by hand. McCarley is the general manager of Mission Bicycle Co. in San Francisco, makers of custom bikes for enthusiasts who like to peddle their way around town instead of driving or Ubering. "Our bikes are made of steel," he says. "And they last a lifetime." Low is the namesake owner of Low Bicycles—also located in San Francisco—which makes high-quality, aluminum bicycle racing frames by hand in a manufacturing shop less than 500 square feet in size. "I'm proud of the things we make," says Low. "It's great quality; you can't beat great quality." Premium, Custom-Made Bikes Both Mission and Low bikes also have something in common besides the price—Low's bikes can price as high as $6,000 for a premium racer—in that both companies finish their products with a powder coating process that distinguishes their bikes by the style and beauty of hand-crafted machinery. "I would prefer a wet process because of the quality of the finish, but I like how our bikes look coming out of the powder coater," Low says. "I'm proud of what we've done, and the finish we have on it." Mission sells its bicycles to people who ride them to work, school or the neighborhood grocery store, McCarley says, meaning they are meant to be used every day, even if they cost around $1,000 each. "They basically replace cars in some households, so the price is definitely in line for everyday use," he says. "Here in San Francisco and other major cities where parking can be so expen- sive, having a bike is such a great alternative and actually much cheaper when you look at all the costs." POWDER COATING